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Winston is the smartest person in our family!

Facebook is monetizing “web 2.0″ by selling targeted ads- i.e. ads that use the data on Facebook to create custom tailored ads for each person. Google does similar things with Adwords and even the ads they place in Gmail. This kind of advertising has the potential to be extremely rotten (i.e. previous Facebook scandels where your friend’s Amazon purchases might be shared with you), or they can be an effective and lightweight way to advertise (no more annoying pop-ups).

In typical Facebook tradition, for my Birthday my wall was plastered with best wishes from friends and family- and I can only assume this is why I received the banner ad that was at the top of the facebook page. The ad features my family members- and lists their IQs (which I’m 100% sure are fake), then ranks them accordingly. The target of the ad is at the end where my name and picture are listed with question marks for my IQ- obviously trying to get me to install the Facebook app and do better than my family (impossible).

What really made this a flop, and quite amusing, is that they ranked Winston, my pet dog, number 1, above Bethany, who is finishing a Master’s degree at the University of Maryland in the time it takes most people to get an Undergraduate degree, Devi who is fluent in Chinese, and my mother who is CEO/President of a company! Now, I realize that Winston went to Oxford, and has a snooty English accent, but he is only 3!

Nice work Facebook- a classic Facebook ad for my birthday!

Note: Click on the picture to see it in it’s orginal size in a lightbox!